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How does workshifting foster today’s “Everywhere Employee”? That’s the question Citrix asked its vice president of corporate marketing, Kimberly M. Woodward. Let’s listen in to the answer:

“The idea of being dependent on a single computer or location for work is becoming as outdated as needing a payphone to make a call when you’re away from home. Increasingly workers are using remote access tools and cloud services to tap into their business applications and data from any location using an ever-widening array of business laptops, personal smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

“This anytime, anywhere, any device capability is made possible by the delivery of on-demand desktops. Using desktop virtualization, organizations can instantly and securely deliver an individual’s complete desktop, including data, applications, and personalizations—even their familiar wallpaper—to any device. To the user, this ‘virtual desktop’ looks, feels, and acts like the traditional desktop on their PC —whether they’re accessing it on an iPad at a public hotspot, a laptop over a hotel network, or an outdated computer in a friend’s guest room. Their virtual desktop is provisioned centrally from their company’s datacenter, simplifying management and ensuring security.

“The ability to work from anywhere can make a huge difference to individual and organizational productivity and to work-life balance. An attorney can research and respond to a client query using her iPhone without leaving her son’s soccer game. A former employee’s complete workload can be moved to a new employee in less time than it takes to clean his vacated office. A sales rep can access complete customer files at a moment’s notice, even if he left his laptop in the back of a cab. While unfortunate, his lost laptop does not create a security risk since his virtual desktop with its associated data and applications is stored centrally in the datacenter and not on the laptop.”

I agree with Woodward. She has a strong handle on the concept of virtual offices. Virtual office space and virtual office technologies empower workshifting and all its benefits. The core concept is clear: although technologies allow workers to work in more places more of the time, there is still a need for a meeting space, or a temporary office, or even high-tech equipment like video conferencing. Virtual office space solutions answer this call. Virtual offices set the stage for the freedom—and the productivity—that comes with workshifting and alternative workplace strategies.

Check out this YouTube video about one worker's experience workshifting: